Stolen Treasure
by ThePhantominthemists
Summary: Atem and the Bandit King's feud lasted far longer then was initially told. And before helping Zorc rise the first time, The Bandit King stole a precious treasure from the Pharaoh. What was it? Read to find out. Set pre-canon. Rated T for now, later chapters may rise to M. Slight AU.


**Yes I am back with another story. This is my first story for this fandom, so please be kind. However if you have some constructive criticisms I will happily take them so the story gets better. I will also be using some proper Egyptian names for certain things that I looked up. **

**Shendyt: A wrap around skirt worn by men in Ancient Egypt usually belted at the waist. **

* * *

Sera stood in the courtyard of the palace and stretched, enjoying the feeling of the warm evening sunshine on her face. It had been another long day and today had been harder than most with the preparations for the banquet celebrating the Prince's eighteenth birthday well underway.

"Hey, Sera," someone called, causing her to turn to see her friend Tali waving to her from the Kitchen door, behind her stood the twins Ana and Ai.

Sera walked back toward the three young women who, like her, were kitchen maids.

"Did you need something, Tali?" Sera asked.

"Well," Tali answered with a sly grin and glance over her shoulder to the twins who had now started to giggle slightly, "We are going to sneak in and watch the court's shadow duels."

"What!" Sera exclaimed, "Are we even allowed in there?"

"Of course," Tali answered dismissively, "As long as we are quiet, we can sneak into the gallery above the training court with a few of Master Mahad's students."

"We do it all the time," Ana spoke up, her dark hazel eyes twinkling mischievously, "You really should come!"

"We don't ever get to see you outside the kitchens," Ai stated in a sad tone of voice, "Please say you will come!"

"I… I don't know," Sera said nervously, "My father…"

"You said he was sent with the ambassadors party," Tali interrupted, "They are not due back until tomorrow. So what are you so worried about?"

"Well…" Sera started as she noted the sun was still a couple of hours away from setting, "Okay, just as long as it does not take too long."

"It won't," Tali replied as she led the way back through the kitchens, "Master Mahad has challenged Master Seto."

Tali's tone caused Sera to glance at her quickly, before shaking her head at her friend. It was no secret that Tali had eyes for Master Seto, regardless of their class difference.

"_She just might attract him too," _Sera thought, continuing to study her friend, "_Stranger things have happened than a maid marrying a court magician." _

Tali was seen as one of the more beautiful women among the maids, being tall and slim with long dark brown hair and large brown eyes. Sera gave herself a shake, not wanting to be envious of Tali's looks, and almost ran into her back when she stopped before a closed door at the top of some stairs they had been climbing.

"Hey, be careful," Tali exclaimed, reaching out to grab Sera's arm to keep her from tumbling back down, "You know if you were more careful, you would not get so many bruises."

"I'm sorry," Sera replied with a wince at Tali's statement.

Tali just waved Sera's apology away and quietly opened the door. She then motioned them to be quiet before they all followed her inside. Sera closed the door behind them and, once their eyes had adjusted to the dimness, saw that they were now in the second story of a large rectangular shaped building. The walls were made of the same sand colored brick as all the other buildings that made up the Palace complex. Below them, on the ground floor, was a dueling field that ran the entire length of the building.

As quietly as they could, the four maids quickly joined the small group of students clustered at the rail.

"They're here!" Sera heard one person whisper.

"I know," another answered, "But why, I mean it's just another practice bout."

"Sera!" Tali whispered excitedly, grabbing her by the arm before dragging her to the front to stand next to a large column, "Look! The Pharaoh and the Prince are here! They seldom come."

Looking over on the other side of the dueling field, Sera could see two men sitting on large, elevated stone chairs separated from the dueling field by a low stone wall. The Pharaoh wore long, cream colored robes and headdress, and sat with his hand cupping his chin as he stroked his short, grey, beard thoughtfully.

The Prince sat to the Pharaoh's right, watching the duel with an intense concentration of one rooting for a close friend. His tri-colored hair making him instantly recognizable. Rumor had it that the Prince had been touched by the very hand of Ra on the day of his birth, giving him his distinctive golden colored bangs that contrasted sharply with his black hair that was shot through with red. The Prince wore a purple cape over a long, cream colored tunic tucked into a knee length shendyt cinched with a golden belt at his waist.

"Don't you think Master Seto is attractive?" I heard one student whisper to another.

"Maybe, but he's far too serious," another answered, "Now Master Mahad on the other hand…"

The student trailed off with a slight girlish giggle and Sera heard Tali scoff slightly and could almost hear the roll of her eyes.

"_I guess it's all well and good for them to fantasize about catching the eye of one of the Masters. They are apprentices after all," _ Sera thought to herself with a sigh as she leaned against the column and continued to gaze down at the Prince, "_Me on the other hand…" _

Sera gave a shake of her head, and tried to force herself to focus on the duel.

"_What is wrong with me? I was just laughing at Tali for eyeing Master Seto and here I am fantasizing over the Prince,"_ Sera thought derisively, "_As if he would ever notice __me."_

* * *

Atem watched as Mahad summoned his Illusion Magician against Seto's Blade Knight, trying to concentrate on the duel and not be distracted by the whispering up in the gallery. He knew his father would want to talk about the duel and hear his thoughts on how both Priests had done; as it was their jobs to protect the Pharaoh and his family. However, he was finding it hard to concentrate as he kept feeling as if someone was watching him. Atem sighed and shifted in his seat, before giving up on focusing on the duel. Finally, he looked up toward the Gallery in hopes of finding the person that was watching him so that he could go back to focusing on the duel. As soon as he looked up, Atem found his gaze locked with that of a familiar young woman leaning against a column almost directly above him.

*****Flashback*****

**One month ago**

Atem stretched in his chair and rubbed the back of his neck before going back to the letter from a neighboring kingdom that his father had given him to answer. Knowing the answer was needed for the Ambassador's party departing early the next morning, Atem had been working nonstop all day to compose a proper answer. Over the last year, his father had been delegating more and more responsibilities to him to prepare him for the day he would take over as Pharaoh. With a sigh of relief, Atem finally affixed his seal to the finished letter. He then stood, leaving the letter on the edge of his desk for a servant to pick up and deliver. He then walked over and pushed aside the curtain separating the balcony from the rest of the room and looked out over the view of the city as the warm, dry wind blew past him, the position of the sun and his stomach reminding him that he had missed the evening meal.

A sudden, soft, knock at the door drew his attention back to the room and he called for the person to enter. The door opened to admit a woman he did not recognize. She was short and very thin with black hair tied up in a tight bun at the back of her head. She was barefoot, wearing a sleeveless, knee-length, tan dress cinched at the waist with a worn strip of braided leather and came bearing a tray of food, which she placed on his desk, carefully avoiding the letters and his inkwell.

"What's this?" Atem asked the woman, who he guessed was a kitchen maid, confused as he had not ordered any food from the kitchens.

"The cook noticed that you had missed the evening meal, My Prince," the maid answered hesitantly as she nervously fidgeted with the seam of her dress, "So she sent me up with a tray."

Atem nodded, as this made a lot of sense as the cook had always had a very maternal attitude toward him since his mother had died when he was young.

"What is your name," Atem asked in a kind tone, hoping to put the woman more at ease and stop her nervous fidgeting.

"S… Sera, My Prince," the maid stuttered in reply, all the while keeping her head bowed respectfully.

"Sera," Atem repeated in a tone that he knew would make her glance up at him and when she did, he was greeted by the sight of beautiful, unusually dark, green eyes.

She looked at him for a moment longer before her eyes widened when she realized what she was doing.

"Thank you," Atem said softly with a kind smile before she broke eye contact.

Atem watched, fascinated, as Sera blushed to the tips of her ears as she bowed her head respectfully once more. Sera bowed deeply in reply before quietly leaving, however Atem thought he caught a soft smile come to her face before the door closed behind her. Atem turned back to his desk, but, for a reason he could not fathom, Sera's soft smile stayed with him for the rest of the night.

*****End Flashback*****

Atem blinked, coming out his memory just in time to witness the moment that Sera realized he had noticed her. In that moment, he saw her lovely face darken with a deep blush as her jaw dropped slightly in surprise. For a few moments more he held her gaze as she stood frozen, before she ducked her head and moved back into the shadow of the column as someone behind her pulled her away. Atem smiled slightly as she disappeared from his sight before turning his focus back to the duel without drawing attention to the maid.

* * *

Sera stood with her back pressed against the other side of the column as she forced herself to regain her composure and gathered her flustered thoughts. When the Prince's eyes had locked with her's she had frozen like a surprised hare. In that moment she felt as if her belly had been filled with butterflies and felt her face heat. As she turned and stole another peek at the Prince, she remembered having felt this way before. Back in the Prince's study, when he had said her name, the quiet authority in his tone had caused her to look up at him. She had seen something there, deep in his beautiful amethyst eyes, something that had almost made her heart skip a beat, a kindness that she had never experienced before but desperately wanted to.

"_WHAT! Oh no no no!"_ she thought in shock at her wayward feelings, placing a hand over her mouth, "_I… I can't allow myself to… I mustn't…"_

"Sera," someone whispered in her ear, however she was still too caught up in her thoughts to notice.

"_Oh what have I done?"_ she thought, desperately trying to push the newly found feeling away.

"SERA!" the voice hissed slightly louder, this time giving her arm a sharp tug.

"What?" Sera replied, turning to see Tali gripping her arm.

"The Prince was looking right at you!" Tali answered, looking very worried.

"This is bad," Ana whispered looking around in a troubled fashion.

"Why?" Sera asked in confusion before it hit her, "We're not supposed to be here, are we?"

The three other women looked away, refusing to meet her gaze.

"You said…!" Sera gasped, pointing sharply at Tali, "What kind of trouble have you three gotten me into?!"

"None, really," Ai replied, nervously playing with the end of her long, black, braided hair, "But just to make sure, we need to leave before someone else notices us."

The four maids attempted to creep back toward the door, however, unfortunately, they found their route of escape blocked by a couple late arriving students. Since they could not leave without drawing undo attention to themselves, the four settled in a corner and waited for the duel to end. Finally, after about another hour and a half, the Pharaoh called a halt to the duel, ending it in a draw. As the students filed down the stairs to the dueling field to meet their master, the four maids quickly snuck out the door and ran down the stairs.

"I am _**NEVER**_ letting you talk me into doing that again!" Sera panted as the four stopped to catch their breath.

"Well, at least we weren't…" Ana started.

"Did you ladies enjoy the duel?" A voice interrupted causing the four to turn quickly.

Leaning against the building was a young woman with long, light brown hair and brown eyes. She was dressed in a knee-length, white dress and wore a headdress that marked her as one of Master Mahad's apprentices.

"L...L...Lady Mana," Ai squeaked and all four maids bowed their heads respectfully.

"We...We know we're not supposed to sneak in with the students," Ana said in a contrite voice, "We promise not to do it again."

"We offer our humblest apologies, my Lady," Tali finished.

Sera stood silent with her head bowed and waited for the rightful punishment they would receive. What happened next caught them all off guard, as Lady Mana was not just any student, she was Master Mahad's best and would most likely succeed him as keeper of the Millennium Ring, taking his place on the Royal Court when he stepped down. Lady Mana started laughing. The four maids looked at each other, briefly, in confusion.

"Don't worry, girls. I'm not going to tell on you!" Lady Mana stated with a big smile after she stopped laughing, "I don't care much for that fussy old rule. You didn't cause any trouble so why should you be in any?"

If they would have thought it appropriate, the four maids would have stared at her in shock. As it was, the maids shared brief surprised looks with each other.

"So, tell me, what did you think of the Duel? Wasn't Master Mahad great?!" Lady Mana took off taking so fast that the four women could barely keep up with her, "One day I am going to be able to duel just as good as he can! Oh and you can look up when you talk to me. I am not like some of the other _**prissy**_ ladies."

Lady Mana then took off talking again about the duel and explaining some of the rules and specifics that the maids didn't understand as they slowly walked back toward the kitchens. It was honestly a very enjoyable time and Sera was happy to make a new friend. They had made it back to the kitchen courtyard where they parted from Lady Mana.

"Well that was unexpected," Tali said with a wry grin.

"But fun!" Ai exclaimed drawing a laugh from her twin.

"Yeah, it was…" Sera started to say when she saw two men enter the courtyard out of the corner of her eye.

She stared in horror at recognizing two of the servants that had went with the Ambassador.

"_What are they doing here!"_ she thought.

"I… I got to go!" she exclaimed and then ran off without another word to her friends.

"_Please… Please don't let him be home already!"_ she prayed as she ran out of the Palace gates and headed for her house.


End file.
